Yusuf al-Madani

Yusuf al-Madani (; born 1977) is a Yemeni militant who is the current chief of staff of the Houthi-led faction of the Yemeni Armed Forces. He is the brother-in-law of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and previously commanded the group's Fifth Regional Corps, which oversaw Yemen's Red Sea coastline. He has faced sanctions by the United Nations and various countries over his role in the Yemeni civil war.

A veteran Houthi commander, he has been involved in wars against the Yemeni government since the outbreak of the Houthi insurgency. He is a liaison between the Houthis and Iran and Hezbollah, having held close ties to the Iranian Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani. He is seen as a possible successor to al-Houthi as leader of the Houthi group.

Early life Al-Madani was born to an religious Zaydi family in 1977 in Abu Dawar, Mastaba district, Hajjah Governorate. He failed to study in public schools, so his father enrolled him into a religious school in Saada Governorate, where he was taught by Houthi cleric Majd al-Din al-Muayyad.

He is the middle child of ten siblings. His brother, Taha, was a prominent Houthi member who was killed in 2017.

Military career Early career and Iran ties

Al-Madani left his studies at al-Muayyad's school to join Al-Shabab al-Mu'min (Young Believers) in the Maran Mountains, which was founded by Hussein al-Houthi and served as the ideological predecessor of the Houthi movement. In 2002, he traveled to Iran, where he was trained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) before returning to Yemen the following year. He also traveled to southern Lebanon, where he was trained by Hezbollah. He was one of the first Houthis to travel to these places. The following year, he was granted temporary leadership of the Houthi group after al-Houthi was seriously wounded. In 2011, he introduced the use of "hard power" in Hajjah Governorate, where the Houthis had previously used "soft power" to gain control. After he moved into Abu Dawar, he and up to 200 fighters began violently converting residents and establishing checkpoints in the area. According to the Houthis, al-Madani and his followers were harassed and resorted to violence as self-defense.

Al-Madani managed military operations in Amran alongside Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and Abu Ali al-Hakem. He was a prominent field commander during the takeover of Sanaa in September 2014, where he released Iranians who were detained by the government for espionage and arms smuggling. In Hodeidah, he violated ceasefire provisions set by the Hudaydah Agreement by using military operations to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and use it as a continual source of pressure against the Saudi-led coalition.

On 16 October 2025, he was appointed as the Houthi military chief of staff after his predecessor, Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in August. Political analyst Baraa Shiban said that al-Madani could be a possible successor to Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in the event of his death.

Sanctions On 20 May 2021, he was sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury and designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. On 11 November, the United Nations Security Council sanctioned al-Madani for his involvement in activities that threatened Yemen's stability. He has also been sanctioned by Australia, Belgium, the European Union, France, Japan, Monaco, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Personal life Al-Madani is married to the daughter of Hussein al-Houthi, and he is the brother-in-law of current Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. He belongs to Zaydism's "Sayyid" class.